1878.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



325 



It seems to be a very ])revalent error, both 

 iimony amateurs and with many florists, that as 

 Dahlias are rank growini; plants they should be 

 planted in a poor soil, — all the better if it is 

 heav}' and clayey ; nothing could be fm-ther from 

 the truth. They should be treated to a liberal 

 mulch of manure in the Summer, in addition to 

 liaving the soil good and rich when they are 

 planted ; for when care is shown them in this 

 Avay the mulch not only further enriches the soil 

 to .supply the voracious appetite of the roots, but 

 it also serves to retain moisture and keep the 

 roots cool, resulting invariably in larger and 

 more perfect blooms, such as those produced on 

 a poor soil cannot be compared with. The 

 flowers are much improved also by treating the 

 plants to occasional but thorough soakings 

 'during hot, diy weather. 



A WINDOW HOOD FOR ORNAMENTAL 

 VINES. 



BY MRS. L. 



I enclose you a pencil sketch of a wire frame 

 ivhich we have found very efiective in training 

 the Virginia Creeper over our windows. It is 

 an idea of my husband's, and has been so attrac- 



tive here that I thought some of your readers 

 might like to try the experiment. Our wire 

 window hoods are now closely covered with 

 foliage and long tendrils, drooping as low as 

 the window sills, making a lovely shade in sunny 

 weather and giving a softened light in the rooms. 

 I will send you b}- mail some stereoscopic views 



showing the effect on the house. I also send a 

 photograph of our front porch, which I fancy 

 you will enjoy, from the lovely eflect of light 

 and shade among the vines. Looking directly 

 through the house you have a view of my pretty 

 lake, seen through the di'ooping tendrils of vines 

 trained on the back piazza. I know of no more 

 exquisite decoration for a country home than 

 these graceful vines. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The Kentucky Coffee Tree. — "We find 

 some strange statements sometimes about 

 American trees and American gardening from 

 American correspondents of European gardening 

 papers. One of the latest of these is in a paper on 

 the Kentucky Coffee Tree, by Mr. C. M. Hovey, 

 of Boston, to the Garden. He says : 



"Though growing over such a vast extent in our 

 own country, from Canada to Tennessee, it is 

 yet very rare to find it planted in the Atlantic 

 States ; and it is doubtful if there are trees of any 

 size, except in some of the old half-botanic gar- 

 dens." 



The writer of this knows of at least a hundred, 

 many of huge size, spread among numerous 

 gardens around Philadelphia, and this fact, Mr. 

 H. could readily have ascertained before starting 

 his error oflT on its mission to the Old World. 

 Instead of their being scarce in culture in om* 

 country, there has been a steady demand for 

 them for many years from some of our best nur- 

 series, and they will be found in most catalogues 

 of leading nurserymen. We know of one Ameri- 

 can nurseryman who must have had a stock last 

 Summer when we saw them, of at least five thou- 

 sand, from six to eight feet high, and we have no 

 doubt if our foreign houses wanted to draw on 

 American nurseries for a stock, ten or twenty 

 thousand nursery-raised trees could be shipped 

 on a three month's notice. 



It is difficult to conceive what can be Mr. 

 Hovey's object in sending such statements abroad. 

 We will only say to our European friends that 

 Americans do not neglect to cultivate their own 

 beautiful trees ; but fine specimens of perhaps all 

 that have been long enough known to warrant it, 

 may be found in many American gardens, 

 though possibly that fact may not be recog- 

 nized in Loudon's works, to which Mr. Hovey 

 refers. 



